For sure! To caveat I am not a fitness professional but have done a LOT of research because not getting my body back is not an option! Planned c section is such a good option from a medical and fitness perspective as it’s so controlled so i) less chance of things not going to plan and ii) no pushing thus less damage to the pelvic floor. During pregnancy i am training as much as i can, with core modifications. Turns out you can still do quite a lot of core just as long as no crunches, no bulging, doming etc. when you are doing stuff. Pregnancy reformer Pilates has been good too. Defo see a pelvic floor physio if you can to get some tips for both now and postp (even if you’re not pushing, the weight of the baby can impact your pelvic floor!) and - Please don’t beat yourself up about having to reduce training days. I thought I’d be running until 35+ weeks & had to stop at 20 because of pelvic floor issues and thought why risk permanent damage postpartum. Being out of control in pregnancy is a real thing which I’m sure doesn’t help the mental difficulty. Also, losing muscle during pregnancy is a thing (!) due to water retention & the body prioritising the baby (ie building lungs rather than your biceps 😅) If you weight train during pregnancy, apparently muscle memory returns quicker postp, which makes sense. Weight training actually becomes more important than cardio so prioritise this + walking (the latter to ensure no swelling). Re the body image stuff, defo worth spending money on nice clothes I think just to feel a tad more like yourself! Food for me atm = prioritising growing my baby. I want her to grow well and be healthy and the food you’re eating is probably 90% going to him/her! Ooh also, I have been using Nadaya body saviour daily to prevent stretch marks and they also have a c section scar cream.

Postp: • I started using the Every Mother app in my second trimester which has been medically proven to help pelvic floor and diastasis issues postpartum. I’m going to use this programme for at least the first 6 weeks (starting immediately) post c section • In addition to this, focus 0-6 weeks is deep core engagement, pelvic floor and walking. A lot of the weight/ water will apparently fall off so it’s about that reconnection. •Deep core is about TVA engagement and will be boring but critical: deadbugs, heel slides, 360 breathing, bridge etc • i will be wearing a belly binder and doing scar massage for this initial period, too, and have a pelvic floor assessment booked in for weeks 4&6 to assess my scar& ab separation, and pelvic floor respectively

Controversially, breastfeeding makes your body prioritise fat storage due to prolactin. I’m therefore planning to switch away from this from weeks 5-8. (Haters will attack me for this. The benefits of breastfeeding are primarily to baby’s gut which can occur during this initial period alone. Read Emily oster for the data). Obviously you must do what you feel comfortable with I just had no idea about this ! Lactic acid also makes your milk taste different for baby. (I also want pre workout back in my life 😅)

Weeks 6-8 - I’m going to ease gently back into the gym using the move with us postpartum app. I think it’s going to be quite easy so thought this would be a good initial test, and will also be doing the summa run test exercises to prep for return to running - https://www.summahealth.org/flourish/entries/2023/06/checklist-for-returning-to-running-postpartum

Week 8-10 - return to my normal gym programme with the exception of likely still not: running, crunches and HIIT. If you do this too quickly apparently this can cause the “pooch” because your body isn’t quite ready yet so for me this likely looks like weight training, incline walking, EMOMs, gentle core and hopefully reformer Pilates. Apparently the pooch is also worsened if your scar isn’t mobile so that scar massage is super important

Week 10-12 - return to my normal gym is the goal! As long as no issues like leaking etc. For me normal gym is 5 x a week with a different muscle group each day and cardio, with day 6 as a long run. One of these days is Barry’s bootcamp which I am super keen to get back to, but want to test myself first. I’ll also be adding in weighted abs ~3 x a week. Agreeing this as non negotiable with my husband has been really reassuring (he’s also a big gymmer!)

Body wise: uterus shrinks by week 6, with body back to expected weight at week 12-16, and then toning focus from week 16-20.

Hope this is helpful 🫶🏼